The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of pelargonium, botanically known as Pelargonium×hortorum×Pelargonium tongaense hybrid, and herein after referred to by the cultivar name ‘Cante Laver’. The new cultivar was a product of a planned breeding program which had the objective of creating new varieties having various colors and a moderately compact and well-branched plant habit. The female parent was the proprietary dark red-flowered ‘8961-2’ (unpatented) pelargonium, and the male parent was the proprietary dark red-flowered ‘9104-1’ (unpatented) pelargonium. The hybridization occurred in October 2001 and the resulting seeds were sown in a greenhouse in February 2002. A single plant selection was chosen for further evaluation and for asexual propagation in the Summer of 2003, in Gilroy, Calif.
The new cultivar was created in 2001 in Gilroy, Calif. and has been asexually reproduced repeatedly by vegetative cuttings and tissue culture in Gilroy, Calif. over a two-year period. ‘Cante Laver’ has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. ‘Cante Laver’ has also been trialed at Gilroy, Calif. and Hillscheid, Germany. ‘Cante Laver’ has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive asexual propagations.
Plant Breeder's Rights for this cultivar were applied for in Canada on Mar. 29, 2005, and with the European Union on Sep. 20, 2005.